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Jeffrey Richardson Lorenzo’s Oil addresses many of the common themes and ideas that we have addressed in class either through discussion or readings. There were two central themes that stood out throughout the movie. One being the effect of culture and social structure (status) on the illness and healing process, and the other being the way in which this same culture and status are able to carry over into individuals attitudes and beliefs about science, medicine, and the overall treatment process. Throughout the healing process, from diagnosis to successful treatment, the one thing that continually played in Lorenzo’s favor was his mother and father’s social standing. Both his parents were clearly highly educated and influential people. His father’s occupation gave them access to resources most people simply do not have. By having the personal and financial resources to acquire information about his son’s illness he was able to greatly effect the outcome of ALD treatment. This was a case where you clearly could see how social structure and culture can effect the healing process. Was it coincidence that Lorenzo’s family lived in Washington DC? Was it by chance that they were able to have access to a university library? Some may argue yes, that these things were coincidence. What cannot be placed on chance is that both of Lorenzo’s parents were two educated individuals who were able to comprehend and decipher anatomy, biochemistry, and biology. Their social status presented them with these opportunities, which in turn effected the outcome of their son’s life. Another interesting theme was not only how one’s social status can effect the healing process, but also how these effects were brought about. In the case of Lorenzo’s Oil, his parents social standing gave them resources that not only brought about a change in the treatment process of ALD patients, but also brought about a change in how they viewed medicine and science as a whole. By being able to educate themselves about their son’s condition, they were able to take a step into the "respected" world of medical and scientific research. They defied the system. They were two people with no medical degrees that became clinicians and scientist to save their son’s life. No longer was their role as caring parents to sit by their son’s bedside and await news from the doctors, but it now became studying and researching so that they could work along side the medical scientist to find a treatment. The question to be raised from this, is that why was it so unusual for people in their situation to act as they did? What was so wrong about them becoming active in the treatment process to save their son’s life? The problem was that their actions defied the social structure that this society had established for medical practice. It was the doctors’ job to do the research. It was the medical scientist’s job to search out a new treatment, and it was the job of the institution as a whole to support them. It was the power held within the institution, within the social structure of medical and scientific research that deemed their actions inappropriate. Who were they to challenge the system, to question our knowledge as medical professionals "This is simply not how science works", stated the medical community (1). This idea that the medical community of doctors, scientists, and researchers possess some form of elite knowledge and power over everyone else through their social hierarchy stands as an example of Fisher’s view of the social constructivist theory(2). This theory presents the point of view that power is located in everyday social actions. Thus power is not inherent within a system, but becomes an integral part of society through people’s interactions (2). Within this society people have allowed doctors and researchers to ascend to this higher level of existence. By allowing them to place themselves into this elite grouping of trained professionals, society has become dependent not upon the doctors themselves, but upon the system that they have created. Since they possess the knowledge and the skills to perform medical procedures and undertake research, we must look to them for the answer. It is not up to us to take on their role within the system, but to wait for their knowledge to bring forth the cure. In Lorenzo’s Oil this power that the medical and science professionals possessed was socially negotiated (3). By allowing them to dictate how the treatment process should be approached, ALD parents relinquished this power to the doctors and scientist. They possessed neither the knowledge nor the power to fight the system that they helped to create. « ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤»
Adrienne Mitchell In the movie Lorenzo’s Oil, several theoretical concepts were presented. These theoretical concepts played a part in the illness and healing of Lorenzo. Culture was one of the concepts that were presented. Culture is defined as "all beliefs, values, practices, objects, that are shared by a group of individuals" (Haritos handout). When Lorenzo’s parents discovered the oil that slowed down the production of the fatty chains that were causing Lorenzo’s illness, I believe that the differences in culture affected the accessibility of the oil. Whereas the oil would have been easily attained in another country such as Italy that was mentioned, it was not readily available to his parents in the United States. There was persuasion involved when his parents got the oil from some company. This may be attributed to the way that culture shapes society. The accessibility of the oil may have also been a reflection on social structure. Social structure is defined as "all parts of social interaction and the norms that guide behavior for these interactions. Here we are talking about relationship patterns and these are governed by the norms that are appropriate for different social positions" (Haritos handout). I think that social structure made it difficult for Lorenzo’s parents to obtain the oil and/or inform others that the oil was actually helping their son. Their findings from the research that they performed was disregarded as a possible cure or treatment of ALD due to their status as merely the parents of an ALD child and not some great researchers or doctors. Had Lorenzo’s parents, their findings may have been regarded as a major break-through that deserved more attention and further research. However, this was not the case. Therefore, in the mean time, Lorenzo and other ALD children were slowly deteriorating. The theory of social control was also presented. Social control is defined as "systems by which society guarantees members will act in appropriate ways-usually appropriate is defined as making sure the social system operates-requires that order and social class are maintained. One way in which this theory was presented was the way in which the organization that was formed to support the parents of ALD children conducted itself. The organization did not allow Lorenzo’s parents to talk about things they were trying with Lorenzo in which they had observed some type of results or even improvements in their son. Even though the things yielded positive results whereas a diet that the organization was encouraging did not have any noticeable positive results, the organization did not allow them to talk about it for fear of possibly encouraging false hopes in other parents of ALD children. The organization made sure that the parents remained in their proper place as parents of the children and not researchers or doctors. There was also the idea of social control in the case of the nurse that was taking care of Lorenzo at one point. Nurses are constructed as being nurturing caregivers. Michaela felt as though reading to Lorenzo was a part of the nurse’s duty to nurture Lorenzo. When the nurse did not appear to be enthusiastic of her duty, Michaela became very upset and consequently the nurse was fired because she was not acting appropriately and not operating in the social system that had already been established.
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